The game of darts, wherein a player, standing at a distance from a marked board, throws a dart into the board, has been played for many years. Darts is a game of skill in which players score points based upon their ability to control where the thrown dart strikes the board. As with many games of physical skill, the equipment has, over the years, undergone refinement to provide the player with the purest possible game, that is, to eliminate defects in the equipment so that the only source of variability is the player himself. The darts used have become increasingly sophisticated with respect to materials, shape and weight distribution. Modern darts typically include a metal barrel having a point at one end and a threaded aperture at the opposite end, a metal, plastic or wooden shaft, threadably received within the aperture of the barrel and the "flight" or flying fins of the dart.
The most critical part of a dart is its barrel. The barrel of the dart is the only part of the dart held by a dart player, thus all the skill and forces used in propelling a dart are transferred to the dart through the barrel. The barrel also is the predominant factor in giving a dart its weight, shape and strength. As such, the quality of the barrel essentially determines the quality of the dart. One of the most important features of a dart is its gripped surface. Often the gripped surface of the barrel is textured so that a player can firmly grip and throw the dart without his/her grip slipping.
Prior art methods of texturing the barrel of a dart are expensive. The textured pattern is either machined onto the barrel or is formed with the barrel in a complex molding or forging procedure. Such prior art methods of texturing have the disadvantage of becoming uneven with time, either because the tool wear or the wearing of the texture itself. Additionally, such prior art texturing methods have limits in how small or fine the details of a textured pattern can be made. Consequently, the coefficient of friction created by such a textured pattern is also limited.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a dart having an optical barrel gripping surface.
It is a further object to provide the aforesaid surface at minimal cost.
It is yet another object to provide a wear resistant dart barrel gripping surface.